Massaging and shaving brush



Nov. 27, 1934. M. H. ATEN 1,981,851

MASSAGING AND SHAVING BRUSH Filed Feb. 15, 1933 INVENTOR.

A/arm [Z Azfefl A TTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 27, .1934

UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE 4 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in resilient rubber or porous shaving brushes, and it consists of the combinations, constructions and arrangements hereinafter described and claimed.

5 I have found'that sponge rubber makes an ideal shaving brush because it is softer to the skin than the bristles of a standard shaving brush and because the porous condition of the rubber will cause the soap to lather more quickly than is possible with a shaving brush. I have further found that the shaping of the sponge rubber into a vacuum cup will cause the brush to massage the skin during the lathering ofthe soap and this will bring the blood to the surface of the skin, and thus aid in cleansing the pores. Moreover, the vacuum effect of the brush will tend to draw the hairs .on the skin into a vertical relation with respect to the skin surface.- The lather will support the hair in a vertical position, and therefore the hair can be cut far more readily when the razor is moved across the skin, be-

cause the hairs will be extending at right angles to the movements of the razor.

The device is extremely simple in construction and due to its porous condition can be thoroughly washed and dried after use, and therefore the device will remain in a sanitary condition indefinitely.-

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel fea- "tures of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application,

in which I Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shaving brush showing the sponge rubber in the form of a vacuum cup; v

Figure 2 is a mo :lified form of the device show- 40 'ing the sponge rubber in the shape of a sphere;

Figure 3 .is another modified form of the device in which the sponge rubber is rectangular in shape;

Figure 4 is still another modified form of the device, in which the skin-contacting surface is provided with a plurality of rubber prongs that will yield when contacting with the face; and

Figure 5 is a section showing how the sponge rubber is secured to the handle and how the pores of the outer surface adjacent to the handle are closed.

In carrying Out my invention I provide a vacuum cup indicated generally at 1, and form the cup of sponge rubber. The vacuum cup has a rim portion 2, a cavity 3, and a reduced portion 4. The portion 4 is permanently attached .to a. handle indicated generally at 5.

In using the device the shaving cream is preferably placed in the recess 3, although it may be applied to the face directly if desired. The 00 handle is now grasped and the vacuum cup is applied to the face. The cup has previously been soaked in water, and the water coming into contact with the soap will cause the latter to'lather. The cup may be moved over the face in any de- 5 sired manner, and when filled with lather, will create a vacuum effect when contacting with the face. 'The. repeated removing of the cup from the face will massage the skin and this in turn will bring the blood to the surface of the skin, 10 and aid in removing impurities. It will be seen that the recess 3 performs the double function of acting as a soap reservoir, and also as acting as a suction device for massaging the skin. The soap closes the pores of the recess and this prevents air from passing through the pores with the result that a vacuum effect is created when the device is applied to the face.

To facilitate creating a vacuum, the porous rubber or other material may have the poreson so the outer surface closed from the handle up to a predetermined distance from the rim 2 as indicated by the line 4-0. in Figure 1, and the layer 16 in Figure 5. The closing of the pores may be done by vulcanizing or anyother manner. This will stiffen the bottom of the vacuum cup and will prevent soap from passing through this portion, and will keep the lather at the top of the brush where it will more readily contact with the face. The closing of these 90 pores increases the vacuum effect of the cup. It isobvious that the entire outer surface of the sponge rubber vacuum cup can be covered with a flexible non-pervious layer of the same material. In fact the casting of the sponge rub- 5 her into a vacuum cup leaves the cup with such a layer. a

After use the vacuum cup may be washed out and dried. This will keep it in a sanitary condition indefinitely. The porous condition of the sponge rubber aids in lathering the soap because the-water and the soap pass through the openings in the rubber and a perfect mixture results. I have found that the sponge rubber is softer in feel to the skin than are the bristles 5 of a standard shaving brush.

In Figure 2 I show a slightly modified form of the invention. In place of the vacuum cup I provide a sphere 6 which is made of sponge rubber, and this sphere 'or ball is secured to a handle 7. This device is used in the same manner as the form shown in Figure 1, except that no vacuum effect is created during the use of the device.

In Figure 3 I show still another form of the invention. In this form of the device a sponge rubber 8 in the form of a rectangle is placed upon a support 9 and the support in turn is mounted upon the handle 10. The member 8 is moved over the face and will lather the soap without producing a vacuum effect.

The fourth form of the invention is shown in Figure 4 and this form is designed primarily to not only make use of shaving soap but also to make use of a shaving cream. The shaving cream is applied to the top 11 of a rubber member 12. The top 11 has a plurality of rubber fingers or prongs 13 and these are integral with the member 12. The member 12 is mounted upon a base 14 and the base in turn is carried by a handle 15. The prongs 13 will give when contacting with the face, and at the same time will offer suflicient I resistance to massage the face, as the device is used. This device can also be used with soap if desired and the prongs 13 will not only massage the face, but will aid in lathering the soap.

In Figure 5 I illustrate one method of securing the sponge vacuum cup 1 to the handle 5. A rubber band 1'? is wrapped tightly about the sponge for providing a neck portion 18 and a head 19. It is obvious that the neck portion can be formed in the sponge during the molding operation. The head 19 -is now inserted in the cavity 20 of the handle 5, while still held in a compressed condition. The rubber band 17 is now freed and will instantly tend toreturn to its normal unstretched condition. The sponge head 19 will also tend to enlarge. The result is that the head entirely fills the cavity 20 and the rubber band 17 frictionally engages with the inwardly extending flange 21 of the handle so as to prevent the withdrawal of the head. It will be noted that the rubber band 1'7 engages with the top and bottom of the flange 21 for securing the sponge in place.

The layer of rubber .6 closes the outside pores of the sponge adjacent to the handle and prevents soap from passing onto the handle. It is obvious that these outer pores may be closed by vulcanizing or the vacuum cup can be molded in this manner.

While I have shown only the preferred forms of my invention, it should be understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The device can be made smaller and used by women in massaging their faces with cold cream. In this instance more of the outer pores of the cup would be closed in order to increase the vacuum effect.

In place of the impervious layer of rubber 16,

a circular shield or apron indicated by dottedlines 22 in Fig. 5 could be secured to the handle 5 to prevent the soap from passing onto the handle. It is obvious that the apron could be used with the pore-closing layer 16 if desired.

I claim:

1. A shaving brush comprising a handle having a cavity with an inwardly extending flange disposed at the mouth of the cavity, and a sponge rubber having a rubber band wound tightly therearound for defining a neck and head portion, the head being received in the cavity and the rubber band frictionally engaging with the flange for preventing the removal of the head.

2. A shaving and massaging brush comprising a handle, a head formed of resilient material and being shaped to form a vacuum cup on one face, said head being at least partially covered with a flexible layer of impervious material, and adapted to permit the head to be manually removed and reinserted into the handle at will and also permitting a new head to be substituted for a worn one.

3. A shaving brush comprising a sponge rubber shaped with a recess to form a vacuum cup and a handle for the vacuum cup disposed in opposite relation to the recess, the sponge rubber being made to taper toward the handle and having at least a portion of its surface outside the handle made impervious without impairing'the elasticity of the rubber.

4. A shaving and massaging brush comprising a handle of rigid material having a cavity with an inwardly extending flange disposed at the mouth of the cavity and a sponge rubber shaped to present a vacuum cup at one end, a head at the other end and a neck intermediate the cup and the head, the head being removably held in the cavity of the handle and the flange of the handle bearing against the neck of the sponge rubber.

MARION H. ATEN. 

